The Changeling
by CJ354
Summary: Buffy/Spike; Willow/Kennedy A new chapter! With actual plot development! Go me!
1. Default Chapter

Author's notes:  I own nothing.  Not Buffy (et all), not Labyrinth, nothing.  And please remember, I need feedback.  For what is a fanfic author without feedback?  Nothing, I say, Nothing!!!

**Bribe**

"Left, ok, dogde right, good, now duck!"  

Thwamp!!  Kennedy fell flat on her ass as Giles' quarterstaff impacted across her chest.  Buffy shook her head sadly and remarked, "You didn't duck."  

Kennedy pulled herself up and glared at the current slayer.  "No, I didn't duck.  We've been training for the last _six freaking hours and now, at the pinnacle of the exercise, I didn't duck.  Please forgive me, oh Goddess of Sword, Fist and Stake."_

Buffy glared right back, "Remember that little First Evil, wanting you dead and hell on earth thing?  I don't think I'm being unreasonable with the whole extra workout sessions here."

Before Buffy could really get going, Dawn rushed down the basement stairs, giving Willow, who had been watching (and, with each blow to her honey, wincing) a chance to start cooing and frittering over Kennedy (who didn't seem to mind overmuch.)  "Oh my god you have _got to take a break and come upstairs!  We are _so_ having Movie Night, like, now!"  _

Dawn managed to get the sentences out in 1.8 seconds, a personal record.  Giles, however, did not look particularly impressed.  "What on earth are you babbling on about," he asked.  "Like, duh," Dawn answered, "Labyrinth is on the Disney channel and we have to watch it.  It's been my favorite movie since I was a little kid.  Come on, Spike and the others are already up there, with popcorn and everything."  Anyone who was closely observing Buffy at this point would have noticed the slight jerk of her head and sharpening of her eyes at their resident vampire.  Luckily for her, no one was.  Kennedy, thrilled at the idea of reprieve, made tracks up the stairs with the briefest of nods and grins towards Dawn.  Willow smiled, shrugged, and followed, albeit at a slightly more relaxed pace.  Dawn sighed, "Come on, you guys, two hour break and then back to the fighting and spirit breaking of the troops."  

"I am NOT…," Buffy started indignantly, only to be grabbed at the wrist and dragged out of the basement by Dawn.  Giles looked around at the now empty room and sighed, "And this is what is responsible for saving the world.  God help us all."

By the time Buffy and Dawn got there, the remaining Scoobies had already made themselves comfortable and were preparing to watch the film.  Dawn quickly flung herself in the last open armchair, so naturally, the only spot left for Buffy was on the loveseat next to Spike.  He had been relatively sweet and harmless lately, sexually speaking, so she made herself comfortable beside him with a minimum of fuss.  They watched the film, well, in theory anyway.  In reality, Spike watched Buffy, Buffy watched Spike (at which points his gaze snapped back to the television), Willow watched Kennedy, Kennedy watched Willow, Anya watched Xander, and Xander (and Dawn) watched the movie.  At the film's end, discussion started up and eventually wandered to what the faerie folk (as seen in the movie) might really be like.  Anya quickly took over the discussion.  "Well, the high courts are what really matters as far as the fey go.  That would be the sidhe.  There's the good sidhe, the seelie, and the bad sidhe, the unseelie," she informed the room.  Kennedy broke into the discussion with a sudden groan.  "You know guys," she said quickly, "I've got a real bad headache; I think I'll turn in for the night."

"Oh no missy," Buffy interjected, "You got out of training earlier, and you can make it up by patrolling with me and Spike tonight."


	2. Ch 2

Kennedy sighed as she followed Buffy and Spike down the abandoned alley.  She struggled to suppress a very strong urge to yell "Just have sex already!!" at the pair, who had spent most of the evening pretending they weren't hitting on each other, and the rest of it hitting a variety of vampires and demons.  Suddenly, she saw a face she had avoided for the last 2 years, spent about two seconds contemplating the most logical and effective course of action, and turned and ran like hell in the opposite direction.  

The sight of this pretty much maxed out Buffy's "what the hell" brain processes, which were already struggling with what her boss was doing out here at this time of night.  "Principal Wood!  Hi! How's it going?" she brightly exclaimed.  Small talk and stuttered out explanations on the parts of both parties were made, until Principal Wood (very unsubtly) asked, "Was that a student who just ran off?"

"Oh, Kennedy?  No, she's just a friend that's staying with Dawn and me for a while," Buffy answered.  

"Ah, I see," responded Principal Wood, "well, I should be going, school in the morning and all."

"Yep, school, in the morning, that's right," said Buffy, "so, um, I'll see you, then, tomorrow at, uh, school.  Bye."

Buffy spun around, grabbed Spike, and hauled ass back home at top speed. 

Upon returning, Buffy ditched Spike and headed upstairs, where she found Willow comforting a severely shaken Kennedy.  Buffy pulled Willow aside, and once they were just outside the bedroom, began querying her as to the source of Kennedy's agitation.  

"I don't really know," said Willow, "she just seems all upset and she won't tell me what's going on."  Buffy sighed, "Well, just make sure she's ok, and I'll see what I can get out of her in the morning."  With that, she prepared to make a final round of the house to be sure all the potentials were safe and asleep, or at least headed quickly in that direction.  Heading through the kitchen, she noticed movement outside and stepped out to investigate, only to find Spike leaning against the tree he had spent many a previous night lodged next to, back when he was still in stalker mode, smoking a cigarette.

"What's up?" she asked, only to receive a muffled grunt as a reply.  "Spike, what's wrong?"  She stepped forward and placed a hand on his arm.  "Come on, you're the one thing not going crazy right now, well, except for the occasional possession by the first, don't  wig out on me now."  As he still didn't reply, she continued, in a slightly softer tone of voice.  "Spike, please, I need"

"Don't." He broke in, "God, Buffy, just don't."  He shrugged his arm away from her as he stamped out his cigarette and moved to go into the house.

"Spike?  Spike, please, what's wrong, what did I do?"

She sounded so forlorn and helpless that he couldn't ignore her regardless of how much he knew he needed too.  "Damn it, Slayer, I can't take this.  Hate me, love me, I don't know if I even care which any more, but don't treat me like one of your bleedin' pals.  I'm not, I can't be, so just, just don't," he fumbled, and shuffled to the door, leaving a hurt and bewildered Slayer to follow him in a few minutes later. 


	3. Ch 3

By all rights, a click at the front door like the one that occurred at 3 am that morning should have been enough to rouse any woman who had as much experience with life's little nasties as Buffy had, much less a slayer.  One can only assume that such a trying evening, topped off with Spike's little emotional outburst, was responsible for her sleeping right through it.  The world class snoring coming from the master bedroom was surely the work of mischievous poltergeists, not her, and certainly had nothing to do with it.  None the less, she didn't rouse until the screaming started.  Buffy grabbed her robe and rushed down the hall to discover the source (of all evil!!! Just kidding.) of the racket.

"Ok, no.  My boss is not standing in my guest bedroom about to assault a potential.  Not happening, nope."  Buffy had quite a bit of practice at lying to herself (see above, Spike) but it just wasn't going to cut it this time.  For her boss most definitely was standing in front of her, nursing a black eye she could only assume came from a hysterical Kennedy's fist.  First things first, "How the hell does somebody sneak in past fifteen of you!" Buffy exclaimed, directing her outburst at the girls who had assembled behind her in the time it took for her to process the most recent curveball life had decided to throw at her.  A distinct lack of response followed.  "And what the hell is going on?"

"Stalker."  Kennedy answered in a deceptively calm voice.  "I thought it was him earlier, but this is definitely the insane stalker that's been following me the past couple years.  Very insane.  So insane, in fact, that you should ignore everything he says and kick him out.  Immediately.  Or sooner, sooner works too."

"Now wait a second," Wood began, only to be interrupted by Buffy.  

"Stalker.  Right.  Ok, everybody back to bed now.  Not you, Spike.  Willow, you stay too.  Everybody else, bed, now.  Move."  The girls didn't look thrilled, (I mean, have you considered the gossip quotient of this event?  Potential slayers they might be, but they were still teenage girls.) but slowly lumbered off, clearly thrilled and eager to return to their oh so comfortable sleeping bags.  Buffy continued to bark out orders.  "Spike, do me a favor and scrounge up some hot chocolate, I think we're gonna be up a while.  Willow," she switched to a soft whisper, "you handle Kennedy; Principal Wood," she continued in her normal voice, "I know you're my boss and all, but since you just broke and entered into my house, I think I can skip the formalities and ask what the hell you're doing here."

It was good to know that she could still intimidate someone, as evidenced by Wood's uncomfortable squirming under her fierce, if somewhat sleepy, gaze. 

"Well, you see," suddenly, he straightened up, "I am, fair lady, Robin Goodfellow, more likely known to your fair self as Puck, thanks to the ever imitable bard."  Buffy swung her head towards Willow with a distinct look of 'huh?'.  

"Um, think Hermes for the Celtic set." 

"Ok, not really helping, Willow," a near exasperated Buffy hissed.

"Well, you know all the big European faery god types; Puck's like the messenger/prankster."

"Not another god," Buffy ground out; there was only so much one girl could take, and her last encounter with a god hadn't exactly ended well.

"Not a god, most certainly," Puck spoke up, "merely a simple player on the stage of Fey.  You see," and here he made himself comfortable on Kennedy's bed and settled into grand orator mode, "many years, around 18, ago, the Seelie court, in whose service this most humble being is, were in quite a tussle with the Unseelie court.  As the good Queen Titiana had just given birth to a lovely baby girl (and it should be noted that the rumors of the fair folk's difficulty conceiving is quite true; this was a near miraculous event), it was decided the child should be sent to earth, to keep her safe from certain unsavory types.  She was placed in the care of two of the kindest, gentlest, and richest folk you could imagine."

"What?" he looked wounded at the sight of arched eyebrows around the room, including Spike's, who had returned bearing the promised cocoa.  

"The High Court does have standards, you know.  Anyway, about two years ago, a tentative peace was declared, and I was sent to retrieve the wayward child.  I found her, and explained the situation, but the Princess ran off and I've been chasing her since.  And now," he finished grandly, "I have found her again and will be most happy to return her to the care of her royal parents, who have been fretting most dreadfully at her reluctance to come home."


End file.
